Cheryl Cole posted a picture of herself holding a blueberry-flavoured version, from UK brand 5 Colors

Stars including Johnny Depp, 50, and Lindsay Lohan, 27, have been snapped puffing on the high-tech electric fags.

British Twilight hunk Robert Pattinson, 27, is also a fan of smoking an e-cig and reportedly gets through up to four every day.

Andy Morton

And pop star Cheryl Cole, 30, posted a picture of herself holding a blueberry-flavoured version, from UK brand 5 Colors.

Experts predict sales could hit £100million in the UK by the end of the year.

Marketing expert Andy Morton said: “Tobacco companies, which are experiencing a longterm decline in demand for factory-manufactured cigarettes, are moving to cash in on the trend.”

Around 1.3m Brits now use the battery-powered devices, which have none of the harmful tar and carbon monoxide found in cigarettes.

Experts wary of e-cigarettes as test run looms

What is nicotine?

Many people have heard of nicotine; they know it is commonly found in tobacco cigarettes, but usually, that's the extent of their knowledge. However, there is so much more to know about nicotine, a fascinating chemical compound. For example, nicotine is a substance that occurs in nature; it's not some laboratory-made compound. Nicotine is something called an alkaloid, which means that it contains nitrogen atoms. Alkaloids can be found in many different kinds of living things such as plants, animals, bacteria and fungi. Some other alkaloids include caffeine, quinine, ephedrine and atropine.

Nicotine in the Human Body

Nicotine makes its way through the body via the bloodstream. When a person smokes a cigarette and inhales the nicotine, the nicotine reaches the brain in around seven seconds. When the nicotine comes into contact with the brain, it causes the levels of several neurotransmitters to rise significantly. One of these neurotransmitters is dopamine, a substance associated with the reward system of the brain. Dopamine is famously known for causing things like relaxation, pleasure and addiction.

Nicotine doesn't stay in the body very long; it only has a half-life of around two hours. As mentioned before, nicotine and caffeine are both alkaloids, which helps explain why these two chemicals have similar effects on people. Although nicotine sometimes gets a bad rap due to being an addictive stimulant, research has not shown any links between nicotine and cancer.

How Does Nicotine Affect People?

Although nicotine does not affect each person the same way, common nicotine effects reported by people who use tobacco products include mood change and weight loss. Nicotine is an unusual chemical; unlike other chemicals that either stimulate or sedate, nicotine can do both, depending on the amount ingested. Low doses of nicotine cause the liver to release glucose, the adrenal medulla to release adrenaline and the brain to become more sensitive to dopamine and norepinephrine; all of these things result in stimulation. Higher doses of nicotine make the brain more sensitive to serotonin and opiates, which creates a sedative effect. Smokers who want to experience nicotine's stimulating effects take short, quick puffs while smokers who crave the sedation that nicotine can provide take long, deep puffs. Nicotine is also known for cutting down people's appetites and stimulating their metabolisms, both of which tend to result in weight loss.

Nicotine Addiction

One reason why nicotine is addictive has to do with the way it interacts with the neurotransmitter dopamine. Nicotine stimulates the release and extends the effect of dopamine on the brain. The initial hit of nicotine causes the smoker to experience pleasure and euphoria. However, those feelings may wear off within minutes, and this short-lived experience encourages smokers to dose themselves yet again in order to feel pleasure and prevent withdrawal symptoms.

A person who is addicted to nicotine may be at risk for a nicotine overdose. It's possible to overdose on nicotine by simultaneously utilizing several different products that contain nicotine. For example, a person using nicotine patches, chewing nicotine gum and smoking tobacco cigarettes at the same time may be at risk for a nicotine overdose. Some of the symptoms associated with a nicotine overdose include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fainting, and drooling. It is notable that due to the short half-life of approximately 2 hours, the user generally notices symptoms quickly.

Therapeutic Uses of Nicotine

Despite its potential to do harm, nicotine actually has several positive uses. Evidence seems to suggest that non-smokers are twice as likely as smokers to develop Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease. Also, doctors are exploring whether or not nicotine has a positive effect on adults suffering from certain forms of epilepsy; the reasoning behind this is that certain kinds of epilepsy occur in the same parts of the brain that process nicotine. People with Crohn's disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease, benefit from the use of nicotine.

Nicotine Withdrawal

Nicotine can also be used to help people stop using tobacco products such as tobacco cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Tobacco users find it difficult to quit using tobacco due to withdrawal symptoms. Typical nicotine withdrawal symptoms include increased appetite, depression, cravings, irritability, inability to concentrate, headaches, anxiety and difficulty sleeping. The first few days of nicotine withdrawal tend to be the worst; the cravings usually lessen after several weeks. By administering nicotine in alternate forms such as electronic cigarette cartridges, nasal sprays, lozenges, chewing gum and patches, tobacco users have alternative means to acquire the nicotine that they desire, allowing them to break the habit of cigarette smoking with less suffering.

New Study: Vapour Poses NO Significant Risk Of Harm To Human Health

While the number of people using e-cigarettes has increased significantly in the last few years there are concerns over how safe they are for the people using them and those around them. The manufacture of e-cigarettes is still largely unregulated and few scientific studies have been conducted into the impact their use has on air quality. One of the first studies to look into the effects of e-cigarette use was published in the October issue of the Inhalation Toxicology Journal. It found that e-cigarette vapour posed no significant risk of harm to human health.
The study was conducted by CHANGE at the Clarkson University in New York. It compared the vapour produced by 4 different high-nicotine e-liquids with the smoke produced by conventional tobacco cigarettes. Some of the pollutants that were tested for included VOCs, nicotine, carbonyls, and TSNAs. As expected the smoke from tobacco cigarettes was found to pose a significant risk to human health. What may be more surprising for some was that the vapour produced by vaporising the e-liquid for both non-cancer and cancer risk analysis showed no risk to health for adults or children.
There has been a growing controversy over the use of e-cigarettes with their use being banned in many countries where there is a smoking ban in place. This study should go some way to easy people’s fears about the use of electronic cigarettes.
The rapidly rising cost of tobacco based cigarettes is another reason why many smokers in the UK are turning to e-cigs. With the price of 20 cigarettes close to AUD$20, a 20 a day smoker is spending nearly AUD$7500 every year on their nicotine habit. The cost of vaping is around AUD$1.50 per day and can be even cheaper with DIY E-liquid kits. There are hundreds of different flavours for e-cigs ranging from regular tobacco and menthol to bubble-gum, rum and even tiramisu flavours. They are legal to smoke indoors and produce none of the smells or smoke of regular cigarettes.

WARNING: This product is not a smoking cessation product and has not been tested as such. The FDA has not evaluated the safety of this product or any of the statements made by the manufacturer. This product is intended for use by persons of legal age or older, and not by children, women who are pregnant or breast feeding, or persons with or at risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, or taking medicine for depression or asthma. Nicotine is addictive and habit forming, and can be toxic if in contact with skin, or if swallowed. Nicotine can increase your heart rate and blood pressure and cause dizziness, nausea, and stomach pain. Inhalation of this product may aggravate existing respiratory conditions. Ingestion of the non-vaporized concentrated ingredients can be poisonous. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition, disorder, disease or physical or mental condition.

CA Proposition 65 WARNING: Nicotine, a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defect or other reproductive harm. Ingredients: Tobacco-Derived Nicotine, Vegetable Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, and Natural and Artificial Flavors.
Use only as intended - Under age sales to minors are prohibited and subject to criminal and civil penalties.
Note: Store in original packaging when not in use

ecigforlife does not supply nicotine in any eLiquids. Nicotine can be purchased by the consumer separately from overseas and is easy to organise. Please do not ask us to add nicotine as a gift or for any other reason as we will not do it. Feel free to contact us and we will be happy to point to you some reliable overseas suppliers.

On a lighter note, vaping without nicotine is an incredibly pleasant and effective alternative to smoking and one should consider it as the first alternative.